He grew up in western North Carolina (Haywood County) and was a 1960 graduate of Bethel High School. He was a 1964 graduate of the business school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and served five years of active duty as an officer in the U.S. Navy. He was a naval parachutist and held a top secret security clearance.

He left the Navy in 1969 after the birth of his son and was employed by the Lees Carpets division of Burlington Industries at their manufacturing headquarters in Glasgow. He retired in 2003 after 34 years of management service. Both before and after his retirement he was an accomplished hunter, vegetable gardener/processor and an extensive reader of U.S. and European history.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Barbara Nix Cathey, who he met in 1948 when they were in the first grade; a son, Mark Cathey (Katherine Londos) of Roanoke; a daughter, Jennifer Cathey of Asheville, N.C.; a brother, Robert of Canton, N.C.; and two grandchildren, William Cathey of Arlington and Emily Cathey of Washington, D.C.

There will be no funeral service and burial will be private. N-G